Those Distant Stars
by AltelierMUSE
Summary: Spoilers. Fox was left with nothing. Despite how badly the tables have turned, he had Falco; who was always at his side. Life was great as G-Zero Grand Prix racer, but as time goes on, the shadows from what Fox left behind return. Falco/Fox Oneshot.


Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this fanfiction. (Unfortunately. :B)

They belong to Nintendo, RARE, etc. and the creators to the Starfox series.

NOTE: This fic takes place after one of the possible endings of Starfox: Command, "Curse of Pigma". This contains a bit of spoilers to those who did not play Command, or who did not get this ending.

Those Distant Stars...

Emerald eyes gazed upward, towards the endless space above. A deep sigh soon followed, the steadiness of his breath showed a clearly visible line of oxygen. The stillness of the night was what disturbed the thrill and happiness the best friends shared. Beautiful stars would mock him; the shine they possessed only reminded him of that "twinkle" she had in her eyes. His mind was once again flooded. It was full of memories that only resided in the far past...those full of adventure, passion, and where the sky was never the limit. Only briefly, a single shiver interrupted his nostalgic-nonsense. Footsteps on the dew kissed grass were heard, that headed toward him. A heavy jacket was thrown onto his shoulders from afar. A faint gasp managed to escape from him.

"Foxie, buddy. You look pretty cold. C'mon, let's go inside, we can make a nice cup of joe or sumthin'. " Fox turned to look at his friend, and gave him a weak smile. He could tell his companion was in need of a jacket too; he could see the shiver that his friend's ego forcefully contained.

"Well, you must be pretty cold too. You've given me your's." Fox threw his own jacket at his buddy and smirked. "Well then, Falco, then you could wear mine. The sleeves are shorter and it's less padded." If Mister Birdie's ego meter was over his head, it would be rising...and in a hurry.

"I don't need your jacket! I'm fine without it, thank you very much." Falco's voice level raised per word. He clenched Fox's jacket hard in his fists.

"I guess that means you don't need some _nice, hot and steaming, _coffee inside, huh? Oh well...your loss." Getting up, Fox made sure to turn around before speaking. He simply couldn't fight the smile that slowly crawled up his face.

"WELL, I don't. "

"Okay...I'll have some without you then."

"Fine."

Fox went straight for the door to their luxurious hotel, walking quicker than normal...Falco was sure to overload. After a very few moments passed, Fox's ear twitched slightly; the sound of footsteps accelerating toward him were drawing near. In the spur of the moment, he ducked, only to be kicked in the gut, Falco Lombardi style. Fox flinched in pain, but quickly recovered--but not quick enough. He looked up, only to have his vision covered. Falco had thrown Fox's jacket back at him, right in the face. Falco got quite a good laugh out of it, only to have karma strike back even harder. Fox had planned ahead of time. Only centimeters away from them, Fox had blasted an unnoticeable (in the dark) hole. Taking the jacket off his face slowly, he pretended to ready the jacket as a projectile. Falco, "dodged" the jacket hurled at him, only to be tricked into the "sly Fox's" hole. A split second later, Fox tripped the leg Falco lifted from the ground, (to dodge), and down went the mighty Falco.

"Haha. Who's laughing now, Falco? "

"Arggh! Fuckin', Fox McCloud!" Like a turtle on it's back, Falco struggled to get back on his feet. By the time he was up, Fox had made a mad dash towards the door. Engulfed in utter rage; his ego was highly damaged; he ran after Fox, his gun in hand.

Steam rose from the cups that sat neatly on the perfectly polished marble tables. Being ultra-famous pilots for G-Zero Grand Prix, they evidently had way too much spare cash. The two of them were able purchase a high-class, three floor penthouse—not that they needed three floors, it was just them. The size of the penthouse only gave Fox negative feelings. He conflicted with himself that Starfox... was no more. The table for two was completely silent, despite what just happened outside moments ago. Falco looked up, focusing on Fox. Fox's head was tilted downward, toward his cup of coffee. His eyes were distant, farther from the cup he gazed at. Falco frowned at the sight of Fox moping once more that night. Within a week, that was the tenth time Falco had spotted his buddy acting so strangely. It had been two years since the split of Starfox...and yet to Fox, it felt like yesterday. Falco couldn't bare the silence, and decided to chime in.

" 'Ey, buddy. What's been up wit' you lately? For the past three years, you haven't done this since the first day of our G-Zero career... A-and don't even think that I don't know anything about you're feeling... You know how many times I split up from Starfox? Well, I missed our team every single time. So yeah..." Falco's words echoed in the silence, hoping to have reached Fox's ears. His point hit Fox hard, but the silence was misleading. Falco sat still until Fox answer, his keen eyes never leaving Fox's face. Fox's hand slowly reached for his cup and gripped it tightly. Lifting his head, the steam began to hit his chin, attempting to evaporate those salty tears that ran down. Falco felt a frown form on his face, the warmth of the coffee seeming to disappear. A quiver ran down Falco's spine, he hated seeing his friend in such pain. Over and over, Falco thought the same thing until it happened, 'Speak up, Foxie...c'mon.'

"Falco...I... sigh Ever since we went stopped in Corneria last week, because of the G-Zero tour, plenty of memories came back. I didn't look at anything in Corneria quite the same way. ..And when we went into that restaurant and saw Slippy and his family happy as can be... It just made me regret ever letting go of Krystal. Their loving happiness just made me jealous... She's gone now, and she's never coming back. Krystal's with panther now..." His voice faded into silence, the blow hitting Falco hard. He recalled sensing trouble between them as soon as they stepped foot onto Corneria's streets. Seeing Fox in the verge of a breakdown, he quickly thought of something to say.

"I'm sorry, pal. But if you truly cared about Krystal, you would respect her choices and let her be happy. I know it's harder said then done, but you need to forget about her! Move on, enjoy our lives as they are. ...And, you never know! You just might find the perfect girl you've been looking for." Falco tried hard to slap sense into Fox, and even if it hurt, with a smile on his face. Although his efforts were full of meaning and heart, his best friend was still in withdraw. His lips never touched the cup of coffee Falco prepared, but he decided to leave the table.

"Excuse me, Falco. I think I need some alone time." Standing up, he pushed in his chair, making no eye contact. He began to walk away, the sound of his boots hitting the tiles, echoing in the monstrous penthouse. Falco, appalled at his efforts had gone to waste, he pursued after Fox, for the last time that night. Approaching his friend's backside, he tapped him on the shoulder and spoke with great confidence.

"That'll only make matters worse. You _don't_ need any of that." Fox spun around, a 'hic' of air signaled tears that would soon follow. His eyes were tearing up again and his lip quivering. Lowering his head, to him, tears were shameful in front of his buddy. They stood in front of each other, in the middle of the room...awkwardly. Falco was never good at showing concern, but of course... he deeply cared. Slowly, his lifted his arms and wrapped them around his friend. Seeing there was no resistance, Falco gripped tighter. Fox began to cry harder, his tears dripping onto Falco's racing suit. The pitter-patter on the fireproof fabric was the only noise that was heard through out the three levels. The rain of tears seemed endless, until Fox abruptly stopped. His voice quivering, he spoke up.

"It's...just so hard..." Falco smiled. He knew just the answer.

"I'll be with you to get through it, pal. No worries. The two chuckled, and the rain of tears began it's downpour. A short-lived eye of the storm. Falco backed away from Fox laughed.

"Heyhey! Watch the threads." Drying his face, Fox smiled back, shoving his hand into pocket.

Taking his other hand, he held it out towards Falco.

"Promise that you'll have my back?" A hesitant second passed, Falco finally raising his hand, and took hold of Fox's, a "smack" heard within the penthouse walls.

"Promise."

Several more years passed, Falco and Fox happy as ever. The distance of the stars Fox and Falco left behind seemed to travel farther and farther as time went on... Their fast-paced life made easing the pain just a bit better. One fateful night, it rained mercilessly, the drops piercing the skin of who ever was outside. Fox and Falco just happened to be outside, standing outside of their penthouse, but they're weren't alone. A young woman, Fox's age was standing not far from them. The boys spotted her, thinking the same thing. Falco winked at Fox, and pushed him toward her.

"Go get her, buddy." A bittersweet smile spoke those words, but never traveled far enough. The rain's undying noise swallowed those words and never appear back into the atmosphere. As soon as he saw Fox leading her to shelter, he followed, that smile still on his face.

"Fara Pheonix is my name..."

As those words were spoken, the _twinkling _star Fox would gaze upon slowly faded into a distant memory. Time went on... Those stars would drift further and further from their lifes, until not a single glint of light was in sight.

_Fin._

This fic was only rated T because of the brief "Fuckin' Fox McCloud".

My first fanfiction ever submitted here! I'll probably end up writing one-shots for a while, until my writer's block completely subsides...

I thought I'd add Fara in there with a twist. She doesn't seem very loved? Or is she? I dunno. I'm new here, how would I know! Let me know if anything is OoC, I'm still just a _little_ new to the S_tarfox_ series. I didn't want to have Falco look too slashy. Hehehehhh. I tried to keep it "friendly"...I might get shot. While writing this fic, I found myself listening to some 'Tales of the Abyss' songs. Plenty of dramatic songs there...ANYWAY. Criticsm is much appreciated! Hope you enjoyed it...


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